A short story
by starshock1995
Summary: The story of a tough old gnome is revealed. Contains time leaps and PoV shifts.
1. Chapter 1

This is going to be a tribute to a good pal of mine. Names have not been changed, but I have full permission to use this person's character.

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><p><strong>6 years before World of Warcraft<strong>

Mulgore, a land of relative peace for the local tauren, and a beautiful site for any visitors. This was also the site of some interesting flora, and Mokcie the gnome was here for that very reason. As she wandered the quiet grasslands, she noticed a tauren out hunting. She was very intrigued by these strange humanoid creatures, particularly their culture. Like the night elves, they have an affinity for nature, yet they support the orcs deforesting Ashenvale forest.

Regardless, the tauren she saw did not mind her presence, and resumed his hunting. Just a moment later though, he was being attacked by a particularly vicious wolf, so the gnome channeled her magic and slew the beast with a fireball. She went to aid the tauren, but his injuries appeared too grave for her to mend via her first aid skills.

"You need some real help," she said, greatly concerned about his condition, "I'll get someone to heal you."

"Don't fret," he responded, "I will be with the earthmother now. But please, take care of my son."

The dying tauren gestured towards a nearby tent, indicating it as his home, and Mokcie walked in and saw a small basket. In the basket was a small horned creature, but as Mokcie entered the hut, it seemed frightened at her intrusion. When she calmly approached the tiny creature, it came to accept her. She carried the child with her to a quiet gnomish building, a great distance from the alliance capital of Stormwind, and raised him as her own.

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><p><strong>8 years after<strong>

As the young tauren began to grow up and become stronger, Mokcie realized that she was raising a tauren that she might have to fight one day. Rather than have them separated by the developing conflicts of the horde and alliance, she started teaching him in the ways of mixing potions. However, he took no interest in this path, and found a new destiny to follow.

It started when the then unnamed tauren was out gathering herbs for his next test, reluctant to do either.

"Why am I even doing this?" he complained to himself. "I don't want to be an alchemist, I want to do something that matters, just like those stories she tells me."

Despite being brought up as an alchemist, his adoptive mother told him stories of old war heroes like Anduin Lothar, a paladin of the light, Thrall, the one that freed the orcs and helped face the burining legion, and Malfurion Stormrage, the one that ultimately defeated Archimonde and ended the threat of the demons.

These legends of the past stood as his idols, and he wanted to be like them someday. He had not seen this as a genuine possibility, but in the forest, he came across a human being attacked by an angry kobold.

He had only heard of those strange rat-like creatures, but he had never seen one before, and they were just as described, ugly, short, and viscious.

He knew he had to help him, but he did not know how, so he just charged at the kobolt and delivered a punch to its back. This did prove somewhat effective, but he was soon being swung at by its pickaxe, and would have been killed if he got hit even once. And yet he kept evading the kobolt's attacks and punching at it. As the fight lengthened, he felt a great rush from fighting for another's protection, and he began to subdue the creature, and finally killed it.

As he gathered himself after his first fight, the priest that had been attacked earlier turned to his savior.

"I don't believe it," he said in shock and awe. "Saved by a child, but he looks like a tough one."

Turning to the tauren, he asked him, "how long have you been training for, young tauren?"

He responded, "What, that fight? I've never fought anything in my life."

"He has some great skill, but he doesn't know how to use it." he told himself.

"Well, thank you, and light be with you." he said, and walked off.

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><p>The tauren was home soon, but the confrontation he had earlier distracted him for a long time, until he had to tell Mokcie.<p>

"Hey ma," he said to her.

"Yes son," she responded.

"I don't want to be an herbalist anymore, I want to be a fighter."

At these words, her fear from years earlier had resurfaced, and yet she knew this time would come.

"Son, you, don't have to be an herbalist. I only trained you as one so you would not endanger yourself."

"But ma, I will do fine, and then I can keep you safe from bad people."

"I, I-" unable to speak, she turned and planted her face in her hands.

"Just take care of yourself, and you'll be a great hero."

_"Hero...",_ he whispered to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**4 years later**

After ages of training and self-disipline, he had become a force to be reckonned with.

He had finally named himself, Starshield, and become a complete paladin at 12 years old. His weapon of choice was, in fact, a shield he always carried, and any weapon he could carry in one hand.

He had forgotten everything he had learned in the field of herbalism, and had devoted himself to combat against malicious forces. The fields where he avoided gathering was now his pratice ground where he had slain bandits and bears on a daily basis. Mokcie had lost all doubt about her child, and knew that they would never meet in battle, even when he left. But what she did not know was when he would leave, and that was the day she seeked to avoid.

Yet within a few months of his training, he had come to her to bring her sad tidings.

"Mokcie, I'm leaving," he bluntly told her.

"But why, son, why are you leaving?"

"I don't belong here, don't you get it? I need to meet others like me, face the outside world, and be a real hero." He turned away and went on speaking. "I know for a fact that there are things worse than bandits in the world, and I want to put an end to them. And I can't grow up knowing only you; I need to learn from others and see the world myself."

"Son," she said, turning to him, "Just do the best you can, and don't give up on yourself."

"Thanks for everything, and take care of yourself."

And with that, he left his old life behind, and Mokcie only watched as he set off on his adventures.

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><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

She had fought against the burning legion, faced the undead scourge, and even endured Deathwing's explosive comeback, but now she was a common citizen, drinking her boredom away in dalaran. She did however still fight off drunken men seeking her company.

"Why hello, shortie. Care to come to my place, and see my, ahem, gizmos?"

This poorly thought advance came from "Boombox" Gallywix, the trade prince's distant cousin, and a local womanizer.

"Oh please," Mokcie responded, "You'd build something that doesn't explode before you'd get in my pants."

"You know you admire those expolsions," he chuckled. "But anyway, here's some mail. It's from a tauren called 'Starshield', I think it was."

Focusing on the name she heard, she grabbed the letter and read it aloud.

_Dearest Mokcie,_

_Are you taking care of yourself? Actually, don't answer, I will see for myself soon enough. I'm on my way to the Eastern Kingdoms, and I was hoping you could meet me in booty bay for a visit. I also want to see if you are as tough as I remember._

_With care, Starshield, aka, son_

another word, she paid her bill, and rushed out of the bar, eager to meet her son again. But Boombox saw a golden opprotunity to win her over, and set his course to booty bay, a wicked grin on his face as he launched his rocket.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh yeah, at the end, I am foreshadowing on of my next stories, just to clear any confusion.

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><p><strong>Minutes afterwards<strong>

She was already in Stormwind, thanks to the portal from dalaran, but her flight to stranglethorn did not go as well. She had not flown anywhere for years, and she was still buzzed from her day of drinking. She nearly crashed into a tree a couple of times, her own hippogryph more aware of her actions than she was.

After a drawn out flight, she finally made it to northern stranglethorn, and stopped at the border to the cape.

"I can't do this, not right now," she sighed. "Once I'm sobered up, I'll finish the flight. I just hope I'm not late."

Just as she was settled in to a makeshift camp she had made, a rocket crashed a distance away, much to her annoyance. But she still got up and trekked to the approximate location of the crash, only to find an unpleasant surprize.

"Hey there, hot stuff! i thought I'd never find you."

"Boombox!" she yelled, very infuriated by his intrusion. "No means no! Now leave me alone, or you'll be sent to the horde in pieces!"

"Yowza, what a woman!" he chuckled. "Still have a bad temper, I see. No matter, once I've chilled you down, I'll fire you back up in no time."

By now, Mokcie was sick of his mage puns, and charged her arcane power into one concentrated blast, senting a bolt of energy at him.

Just as quickly, he conjured a magic barrier, absorbing her blast, and senting a frosty surge of wind at her in retaliation. This only slowed her down, and she brought down a pillar of fire, defrosting her and sending Boombox backwards into a tree. The impact should have broken him, but he crawled back up, swearing to himself.

"Damn, you're a real tough one, but you will be mine one day, and you will love it. Hehehe."

With these words, he teleported back to dalaran, leaving her to finish her trip.

"I just hope he doesn't mind my tardiness." Mockie said, unaware of her son's own predicament.

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><p><strong>Deep within the Eye of Eternity<strong>

"I just hope she doesn't mind that I'll be late." said Starshield, but he did not dwell on this, as he was interrupted by the growl of a blue dragon whelp, and it did not look intent on leaving him...


End file.
